Commonwealth v. Colton

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for murder in the first degree on theories of extreme atrocity or cruelty and deliberate premeditation, holding that there was no error in this case warranting reversal, nor was there any reason for the Court to exercise its authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E to reduce the verdict or order a new trial. Specifically, the Supreme Judicial Court held (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to suppress a statement Defendant made to police; (2) the evidentiary rulings challenged by Defendant were unavailing; (3) there was no prejudicial error in the jury instructions; (4) the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in failing to dismiss several jurors for cause; (5) any potential prejudice to Defendant from the prosecutor’s closing argument was mitigated by a comprehensive limiting instruction; and (6) Defendant’s mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole is constitutional. View "Commonwealth v. Colton" on Justia Law